Once again, I find myself apologising for a prolonged absence. I've been pretty busy, but to be fair, there hasn't been an awful lot Nintendo-wise to discuss, with news about the December announcement from Nintendo all still too much like guesswork. Things changed this morning.

As I write this, I have just learnt of the GameCube GBA player. In case people haven't spotted this little beauty, it's an add-on for the GameCube that matches the console's footprint, and is roughly an inch high. It plugs into the base of the console, slotting into the High speed serial port (which is capable of around 81Mb/sec transfer speeds). Fairly uninspiring? Just a novelty for GC owners without a GBA of their own? Well, maybe not�

You see there are a few interesting facts about this GBA player which make me inclined to believe it has a bigger purpose. Bare with me � this isn't based on much more than circumstantial evidence, but I'm quite excited by the prospects.

Firstly, the bigger picture. Lots of you are despairing at the recent announcement that Metroid Prime isn't going to appear in Europe until well into Next year. We will also be waiting for months for Zelda. Many of you have been upset by this apparent shift towards the "bad old days of Nintendo", such as the forum user who started a thread "Nintendo are still treating Europe like shit!". However, being ever the optimist where Nintendo are concerned, I like to think that this is all part of a deliberate strategy, and that Nintendo will come good to their word in Europe.

You see, I am quite surprised by the shifting of the dates for Europe, and Japan, for Metroid, with versions of the game out on both the GameBoy Advance and the GameCube. This game is so massively anticipated in Europe and Japan and yet it would seem to be delayed an extremely long time for a game that only requires the minimum of localisation � its not like the game relies on reams and reams of dialogue. The release in the USA may have been to get the Christmas rush, but with little to no chance of this hotly anticipated title making it to Europe before Christmas, maybe Nintendo decided on a grander purpose for the game.

Now, the more observant of you may have noticed that your GameCube is not, in fact, a cube � its identical in width and depth, but is about an inch short height-wise. So then�is it a coincidence that the console, named a Cube, and using a Cube motif throughout all its designs and logos, is now made into an almost perfect cube by the new GBA player, which just so happens to be an inch high � "the missing inch" if you will? Well, it could be, but being the suspicious type, I'm inclined to believe that this indicates a grander purpose for the GBA player � something that Nintendo had in mind all along from the inception of the GameCube. But what could that possibly be?

Well, lets have a look at the hardware for this GBA player�big isn't it? It's bigger in volume than the GBA itself, and doesn't need to house any of the controls or the speaker, or the batteries, which seems strange. And why isn't this just an add-on for the GameBoy Advance? There are already 3rd party products out there that allow you to play your GBA on your TV, and they are only small. In addition, they do not require a grandiose connection to the GameCube to work, they plug straight into the TV. Furthermore, why does this GBA player need a GameCube disk to operate? Surely a hardware switch could have done the job?

You see, to me, this just seems like an overkill approach to a relatively simple add-on for the GBA. What could the GBA linkup gain from connecting to the GameCube? Well, as expressed earlier today, "The Game Boy Player accommodates several novel forms of game play". Can you see where I am going with this?

Back to the re-shuffle of dates. Look at the release schedule for next year, for us in Europe. The first thing we get, before Metroid or Zelda, is Phantasy Star Online, v1 and v2. As you already know, Phantasy Star Online is the GameCube's first online title, and will ship with the Broadband adaptor and the 56k Modem adaptors, allowing online gaming for the first time for the GameCube. It's already out in Japan and America, and comes bundled with the internet adaptor of your choice. Apparently the Ghost Recon game on our release list is supposed to also support online play � confirmation is needed for that. Just to underline that point, online gaming functionality will be fully operational for the GameCube several months in advance of the GameBoy Advance player add-on.

Now, a side point. Online gaming. Nintendo have stated several times over that they are always experimenting with online gaming. They certainly have nothing against it, but currently don't feel that, in its present form, it represents a realistic way of doing business. Miyamoto-san has also stated that the problem with an online game of the MMORPG ilk is that it would be "a game which is never completed" i.e. typing up valuable resources to maintain at Nintendo. However, it is well known that Nintendo are pouring lots of money into Online gaming R&D � they have said so themselves. They are also committed to online gaming with the new GBA / 3G phone that seems to be in the pipeline. Microsoft have said on several occasions that they don't believe Nintendo isn't interested in online gaming, and have something up their sleeves. We also know that Nintendo have registered a patent for a new type of massively multiplayer online game, details of which are unknown.

How does this all tie in together though? The GBA player, the release dates being strange, the apparent contradiction in online gaming� In a word?

Pokemon.

More accurately, GBA Pokemon, played online, using the GameCube GBA player and a GameCube broadband adaptor. Think about it, it all fits.

Pokemon is an incredibly huge franchise for Nintendo. However, since its massive success on the GameBoy Colour, little has been heard of the forthcoming sequels. A few screenshots and a movie or two have been demonstrated, which have been pretty underwhelming, and that's it. Little is know about the gameplay mechanic, what new features the game will bring, etc etc. Many of the cube-europe readers have already speculated that the December announcement could be Pokemon online, but we have little in the way of physical proof that a GameCube Pokemon title is in the works. In addition, "traditional" Pokemon games have been the preserve of the GameBoy, with the N64 getting games like Stadium and Snap not having the same depth of gameplay. With this in mind, could Nintendo's patented massively online game with a twist be Pokemon on the GBA? It certainly wouldn't be a game that required ongoing maintenance from Miyamoto-san.

You would play the game in single player mode with the game on your GBA, and then slot it into the GBA player at night, and play online with whatever functionality is built into the game. It's a great idea, but it would need more games to sell it. Pokemon is massive, and would shift bucket loads of GameCubes in this way, but you would definitely want other content to fuel the phenomenon. So that's where Metroid Prime and Zelda come in � they have the GBA to GameCube functionality that has so far been lacking. In both games you get extras for having the two connected up. Nintendo have always said they want to push this functionality, maybe this is now why.

I would be very surprised if Nintendo intended to charge for playing and trading things over the net from your GBA. This wouldn't require incredibly complex servers, or huge amounts of bandwidth, and could deal with huge numbers. And huge numbers would be drawn, make no doubt about it. The hardware presumably supports internet play, and the GameCube boot disk allows local dialup and internet functionality.

It has been noticeable that ahead of this mysterious December announcement, so many of the big Japanese companies have started to throw their weight behind the GameCube. I think they have been given exclusive previews to this hardware, and know that Nintendo are sitting on a goldmine � and want to be part of the action. First was Square with Final Fantasy � with both GameCube and GameBoy versions planned which would tie in nicely. Now Capcom have announced 5 exclusive games, Konami have told us that we can expect a version of Pro Evolution Soccer, and have delayed a big announcement by a month (Metal Gear Solid anyone?).

When you put it all together, everything is in place. This hardware is given a fairly muted unveiling a couple of weeks before December. Then, in December, Nintendo unveil their online GBA plans for Pokemon, which has people bouncing off the walls with excitement. Around the same time, the major Japanese players throw their support behind the GameCube, knowing that Nintendo are onto a very good thing. A month later, the GameCube is online in all territories, giving a few months to iron out any problems with servers in each territory. Then the GBA player is launched in Japan, then the USA, then Europe, with Metroid Prime being a killer app for it immediately in Japan and Europe, and Zelda providing additional quality material. Then Pokemon is unleashed upon the world, and GameCube sales go through the roof. The following Christmas, the first of the major announcement games start to appear on the GameCube � Resident Evil 4, Pro Evolution Soccer, Final Fantasy etc, and suddenly the GameCube's original target of 50 million units sold does not look like a fairytale at all.

Nintendo have not started buying in extra shipments of chips from IBM for nothing. Something huge is about to happen in December. This may well be it, or I might be a million miles off. The flaws in my argument are about the hardware required to turn the GameCube into the machine that could play Pokemon Online. However, if any game can sell it, Pokemon can, especially if the hardware, which doesn't cost Nintendo much to make, is bundled with it. Nintendo could still probably make a tidy profit if they sold Pokemon with the hardware for about �60.

Whatever is going to happen, we should know what Nintendo has up its rather spacious sleeves in the next few weeks. Suffice to say, its going to be massive � don't worry yourselves just yet � Nintendo's in for the full distance.